READ: Yoga ~ A Menopause Alternative to HRT by Mache Seibel M.D.

Twenty years ago during a particularly stressful period of work, I began taking a yoga class as a non-pharmacologic antidote. I was running a center for reproduction and women’s health, working 24/7 and needed a way to relax. I had the good fortune to enroll with a yogini named Hari Khar Khalsa, and I took classes from her for a period of time. One day after class I asked her if she would be interested in teaching a yoga class to my patients to lower their stress. We began a series of yoga classes with the first hour consisting of us sitting on mats on the floor with my patients and discussing a health topic. I called them “Mat Chats.” The second hour was devoted to yoga with a focus on the medical topic we had just covered.

Over time, I not only received the benefit of lowering my own stress level through yoga, but also the benefit of Hari’s friendship and ultimately collaboration on A Woman’s Book of Yoga, a book that combines Eastern and Western medicine to help women at different stages of their lives. Since that time, I’ve suggested yoga to many of my patients. One group that I find it particularly useful for is women in and around menopause. They often tell me it helps them deal with their symptoms. Because many women either can’t or won’t take hormone therapy, finding an effective alternative is really important.

I was delighted to discover that the February 2012 issue of the journal Menopause, finally proves yoga reduces menopause symptoms, hot flashes and improves sleep. This is the first study to do so. The article studied women between the ages of 50 and 65 with no yoga experience and who were not taking hormones or antidepressants. The study lasted 4 months and included two one-hour yoga sessions per week, which combined stretching exercises and breathing techniques. Compared to a group of women who only did stretching, the yoga group improved their sleep and their mental health, and also their menopausal symptoms. The researchers believe this is because yoga increases levels of the brain hormone -aminobutyric acid, which calms the brain. Yoga also seems to increase levels of the sleep inducing hormone melatonin.

Another benefit of yoga is that it amplifies the parasympathetic tone in the body, which aids relaxation and reduces the sympathetic tone – the so-called fight or flight hormones. This may be an important part of why sleep patterns improve and hot flashes are reduced. Most women observe that when they are stressed, their hot flashes increase.

As more and more women question whether or not to take HRT, and women with breast cancer are typically not able to take HRT, finally getting proof that an alternative approach reduces symptoms of menopause, lowers hot flashes and improves sleep is a great thing. So if you are looking for an alternative to HRT, or even if you are taking HRT and just want to help your insomnia, improve your mental health and your menopausal symptoms, grab your yoga mat, enroll in a yoga class with a good instructor, practice several times per week, and sleep tight. Namaste.

By any standards, I was a fat child. So much so that at 29 months old, I was dubbed Mighty Mite by a front page article in the Galveston Daily News. They ran the article because I was the fattest kid my age in all of Galveston County. People at the time thought “a fat baby is a healthy baby.” Now we know a fat baby often is not a healthy baby and much more likely to be a fat and unhealthy adult. In 2012, 1 in 3 children are obese. Mission Readiness, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization run by retired military leaders dedicated to investing in America’s youth, discovered that today, 27% of 17- to 24-year-olds, some 9 million, are too fat to…

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” -Robin Williams This week ushers in the official start of Spring! Yes, we all know winter is invaluable in the way it forces us into that place of deep inward reflection where…blah, blah, blah. Ok, I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough ruminating…I’m ready to kick winter’s butt to the door and start seizing the revitalizing energy of SPRING!

Selected by his peers as one of the Best Doctors in America, Doctor Seibel brings innovation to health education, focusing on creative approaches to help America stay well. He is a national expert in helping women in and around menopause improve their symptoms including sleep, stress, diabetes and weight control. In addition to patient care, Doctor Seibel does corporate consulting, speaking, workshops, and coaching. He created HealthRock®, his unique brand of making health education fun and memorable. Doctor Seibel teaches people the health information they need and the perspective they require to stay well. “It’s better to stay well than to get well.”

READ: Yoga ~ A Menopause Alternative to HRT by Mache Seibel M.D. was last modified: March 22nd, 2012 by Mache Seibel MD

Be The First to Know

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human:

My VividLife: South Africa

Shayne Traviss

Sometime's growth involves digging up the dirt and planting anew...
After over 20 years of marketing, promoting and producing others I've decided to open a new chapter in my life.
If you long to go higher, live a life 'all in' join me as I dive in deep sharing my life experiences, travels and inspirations for living a VividLife.

Follow Me On Instagram

About VividLife.me

Founded by Shayne Traviss formerly VividLife.me was an online resource for personal growth through over 10,000 blogs, audio conversations and videos, from thought leaders, best-selling authors and wellness experts from around the globe. VividLife.me provided engaging conversations on consciousness and human potential with Arianna Huffington, Jane Fonda and Alanis Morrissette, wisdom packed blogs from spiritual Icons Iyanla Vanzant and Ram Dass, Green Tips from David Suzuki’s Queen of Green, Advice from Award Winning Parenting and Relationships Experts, Recipes from Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw Chef’s and more… and reached and inspired over 3 million people around the globe.
However sometime's growth involves digging up the dirt and planting anew...
And after over 20 years of marketing, promoting and producing others Shayne Traviss decided to open a new chapter in his life.
If you long to go higher, live a life 'all in' join him as he dives in deep sharing his life experiences, travels and inspirations for living a VividLife.